The City of Cape Town has ramped up assistance to 12 shelters around the city by disbursing aid to the value of R157 000 during the winter.
According to a press release issued by the City, the Community, Arts & Culture Development Department, which was formerly the Social Development & Early Childhood Development, distributed the aid.
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The aid included refreshments, cleaning materials and hygiene packs for clients, which were handed over to the following organisations:
- The Haven Night Shelters in District Six, Kensington, Kraaifontein, Napier Street and Retreat
- Somerset West Night Shelter
- Elim Night Shelter
- Oasis Reach for Your Dream
- Ubuntu Circle of Courage
- U-Turn Ministries
- Hope Revolution
- MES
Recipients of the aid are required to be ‘registered as a non-profit or public benefit organisation’, as well as having existing facilities to accommodate clients and address their needs through developmental programmes.
In addition, they should also be able to provide essential services such as meals and access to ablution facilities.
The City has an existing and ongoing partnership with the provincial Department of Social Development (DSD) to ‘provide institutional capacity building training for shelters’.
Training includes a range of topics, such as financial management, Environmental Health management, and Building & Development topics.
In the meantime, the City has also been investigating a ‘potential funding proposal’ that can help shelters keep their premises compliant.
‘Our NGOs do their level-best to keep their services going, but access to funding is an ongoing challenge. The City understands all too well the pressures that many of our shelters are facing, and that is why we are looking at a number of interventions to ease the load,’ said Councillor Patricia Van der Ross, Mayco Member for Community Services and Health.
‘While this administration has put a lot of effort into expanding the Safe Space model to more areas around the metropole, it is critical that existing shelters too remain sustainable. The more resources there are, the more individuals we help,’ Ross added.
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Picture: City of Cape Town / Facebook